Thinking about a rebrand? It’s time to listen to consumer and become the consumer. By Candice Chung
Here’s a question every customer wants to know about a company’s rebranding campaign — what’s in it for them?
The ability to answer this question at each stage of a rebranding exercise is key to retaining customer loyalty and creating ‘good news’ narratives.
“Once you’ve worked out your vision, mission and direction, the next step is to put yourself into the shoes of the consumer [or member],” says Barbara Pesel, Managing Director of communications agency Pesel & Carr. “In other words, you need to become the consumer and work out what they want to hear about your brand.”
Strategic empathy is crucial to getting stakeholders on side with branding initiatives. “It is really about saying to the market, ‘We’re here, we’re listening to you. We’re still relevant and this is what we’ve come up with,” says Pesel.
Some of these perceived benefits might include new product offerings, better customer access, or improved services. “Ultimately, people care about the quality of the product and their overall customer experience,” says Nicole Hartley, Senior Lecturer of University of Queensland Business School.
Transparency is another key factor. “Try to be transparent about the need to re-brand,” says Hartley. “That is, don’t just spring it on your customers, introduce it to them and let them know why this is a benefit to them.”
Above all, customers want to feel respected. According to a 2016 customer quotient study by Harvard Business Review, “Customers trust companies that they feel understand them. They respect companies that they believe respect them in return.”
This overall sense of trust can be broken down in five main elements: openness, relevance, empathy, experience and emotion. And a company’s performance on these key indicators “predicts loyalty outcomes and is clearly correlated to profit and growth”.
“The way in which brands have become very smart over the years is that they’ve stopped talking how wonderful they are, and started to focus on what makes their customers unique,” says Pesel. In the end, companies that demonstrate an ability to listen actively and apply strategic empathy will win them the kind of loyalty they need.
Stephanie McConachy MIML is part of the new generation of leaders and is passionate about equipping young managers with the knowledge and skills to manage staff and develop further in their chosen careers.
Having recently joined the Institute of Managers and Leaders Board of Directors after three years on the Emerging Leaders Board, McConachy is highly qualified to offer advice to aspiring managers and her thoughts on leadership make compelling listening.
With an established background in marketing, communications and branding, Stephanie’s experience has been varied from working in a small start-up to national law firm Minter Ellison and global firm PwC. Currently at PwC Stephanie operates in a national role acting as an advisor to senior leaders across the business on all matters of marketing.
“When I think about the leaders I admire I think, ‘who would I like to follow?’ I like leaders who take you on a journey,” says McConachy, who features in the August issue of Leadership Matters. “The best leaders are charismatic and they are great communicators.
“They care about the cause and they care about the organisation and they care about the people and they are great communicators. They take you on a journey and you want to follow them.”
In her current role, McConachy is responsible for driving the PwC marketing initiatives and presence in the South Australian market across a range of end-to-end marketing campaigns that build brand awareness and support client acquisition and retention initiatives.
McConachy believes “everyday leadership is the purest form of leadership” and she lives by the mantra of “just do it”. In other words, don’t get too caught up in the pursuit of perfection but rather just throw yourself into tasks and show people the way forward with your passion and dedication to a common cause.
Making people want to identify with your brand is crucial to any rebranding as Candice Chung explains
At the most fundamental level, all forms of rebranding is an attempt to influence the subtle chemistry between a company’s reputation and their customer’s social identities.
“Rebranding is not merely about revamping a brand name or logo, it’s about changing a company’s message, goals and their culture,” says Nicole Hartley, Senior Lecturer of University of Queensland Business School. “This requires a vision for the brand that is inspiring to customers, stakeholders and employees.”
To ensure an overall alignment of visions, first, a company needs to understand what it represents to its customers. “Specifically, what does this brand say about them and their social identities?”
Our social identity refers to a self-curated sense of who we are, and the groups we belong to. For instance, those who cycle to work may identify with people who stay fit; they may also identify with being environmentally conscious. Each of us contains a multitude of social identities, which in turn become powerful triggers to our consumer behaviour.
“Successful rebranding is about surprising or delighting customers in a thoughtful and authentic way.”
“When consumers identify with a social group that has a well-defined, positive image, they tend to select products that most clearly broadcast membership in it,” according to a recent report by Harvard Business Review.
“Toyota’s [environmentally-focused] marketing for its Prius hybrid car provides an example of how to do this well. By September 2014 the Prius accounted for over half the hybrids ever sold in the United States.”
As Revelian CEO Cherie Curtis pointed out in her recent ‘Change’ podcast with Institute of Leaders and Managers CEO David Pich, “brand is an interactive thing”.
“How much do your members/clients want to attach their identity to your brand? That is the biggest endorsement they can provide,” Curtis says. “It’s about people wanting to associate themselves with that brand.”
Most big rebranding mishaps result from companies not taking the time to understand their customers’ attachment to the brand, says Dr Hartley. “Wanting to merely inject a bit of modernism into a brand is not enough.
“Successful rebranding is about surprising or delighting customers in a thoughtful and authentic way.”
How successful rebranding can open up new markets for your business. By Candice Chung
Regardless of the core business of a company, one of the main aims of of rebranding is to change the expectations you’re setting for your stakeholders.
Companies typically find themselves at a strategic crossroad in response to changing market conditions or increased competition, says Nicole Hartley, Senior Lecturer of University of Queensland Business School. Or they may consider rebranding as a way to support growth strategies that involve moving into new markets – extending their appeal to a wider range of clients, a different gender or age group.
No matter the reason, there is one common thread between all successful rebranding campaigns. “Rebranding done well involves acceptance and continued brand loyalty by your established consumer market,” says Dr Hartley.
Below are some stand-out examples of Australian companies that have broken new grounds by re-energising their brands while maintaining customer loyalty, according to Dr Hartley.
Virgin Blue In 2010, the company renamed and repositioned themselves as Virgin Australia. This was in response to a drop in market share and revenue after entering the market as a low cost airline. Keen to compete in the upmarket business and leisure segment, they repositioned the brand with a new culture and a new customer experience. The comprehensive rebrand led to a name change and focused on a more contemporary look and appeal.
‘Rebranding does well involves acceptance and continued brand loyalty by your established market’ – Dr Nicole Hartley
Woolworths’ notable 2009 logo relaunch involved a signatory new W for Woolworths, styled with a green apple and accompanied by a new tagline, “The Fresh Food People”. The rebrand hits back at the growing perception that a large percentage of Woolworths’ food was imported. Importantly, it reflects the company’s commitment to fresh produce, which was proudly Australian grown. Their additional commitment includes showcasing the baked goods section within the stores, so shoppers could see fresh food production in action.
ANZ wanted to focus on delivering a brand image that pushed them from being a domestic to an internationally recognised brand – particularly in the Asian markets. A new tagline for the bank – ‘We live in your world’ delivered on this in their 2009 campaign. They also launched a new logo that spoke to a more diverse population. The use of a lotus as the main image “represents ANZ in all its markets regardless of language”, and signifies cultural resonance with the Asian market.
Super Retail Group’s 2012 rebranding campaigned aimed at making a clear distinction between two of their flagship brands – Amart (All) Sports and Rebel Sports. The shift was to rename Rebel Sports as ‘Rebel’ – repositioning it as a premium sports retailer, while enhancing the focus on a female sports enthusiasts market. Rebel Sport had been identified as overly masculine, and the revamp of Rebel (with a new yellow and black logo), together with an effort to make its product offerings more women-friendly, ultimately helped to expand its female market.
From retaining relevance to winning market share, there is a lot to be gained from an effective rebranding campaign. Here’s what we can we learn from Bonds — the Aussie retail giant that has continued to reinvent itself over the past century.
By Candice Chung
Designer Coco Chanel once said, “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” While the celebrated icon and businesswoman may have been addressing the fashion world, her game-changing advice is just as relevant when it comes to managing corporate image.
For established companies, one way to redefine their point of difference — and remain competitive in a changing market — is through strategic rebranding.
“Ultimately, rebranding gives you an opportunity to communicate, and to go out to your stakeholders again with a good story.” says Barbara Pesel, Managing Director of communications agency Pesel & Carr. “It’s really about saying to the market, ‘We’re here, we’re still relevant, and more importantly — we’re listening to you.’”
Before attempting a rebrand, however, it’s crucial that the company has a strong grasp of its core DNA. Pesel defines this as the sum of an organisation’s vision, mission and values. “Vision is about long-term goals. Mission is what you’re going to do to get there. And your values are your guiding principles.” A sudden or unexplained shift away from any of these factors can risk alienating core customers.
In recent years, a handful of major Australian brands have attempted to reinvent themselves with varying degrees of success. Woolworths notably relaunched its logo in 2009 to focus on ‘freshness’, Virgin Blue moved away from its low-cost origins by repositioning itself as Virgin Australia in 2010, while Radio Shack failed to attract a younger clientele by changing its name to The Shack in 2009.
‘Rebranding is really about saying to the market, ‘We’re here, we’re still relevant, and more importantly — we’re listening to you’
One household name that has continued to excel at brand reinvention is Bonds. From its early days as a small manufacturer of women’s hosiery in 1915, to its introduction of the iconic Chesty singlet that put them on the map in 1920, the company has evolved into an established leader in today’s $2.5 billion underwear business.
Throughout its 100 year-plus history in the retail market, Bonds has successfully remodelled itself from a masculine, working class icon to a quintessentially Australian brand that appeals to all ages and gender. “Our brand values are at the heart of everything we do,” says Bonds Head of Marketing Emily Smalls. “We design comfortable, great-fitting products, we innovate with the changing consumer landscape and we ensure our communications reflect our brand values.”
For Bonds, those core values are authenticity, inclusivity and a sense of irreverence. And it’s the company’s ability to translate their DNA across an ever-expanding product range that allows it to grow without losing its following.
Bringing Sarah Murdoch on board as an ambassador in 2001 was a watershed moment in Bonds’ 102-year history.
“Rebranding done well involves acceptance and continued brand loyalty by your consumer market,” says Nicole Hartley, Senior Lecturer of University of Queensland Business School. “Two elements come into play here: understanding your key markets and being transparent about the need to rebrand – [in other words], letting your customers know why this is a benefit to them.”
One of the ways Bonds has managed to achieve this is through an effective use of ambassadors. For instance, the introduction of Sarah Murdoch as the face of Bonds has been instrumental in the launch of Bonds Bras and the Female Chesty in the early 2000s; as has the hiring of Pat Rafter to re-energise its male underwear range. Since then, Bonds has continued to introduce new products with personality-driven campaigns fronted by the likes of Rachel Taylor, Miranda Kerr and rapper Iggy Azalea — each reflecting a different facet of the company’s distinctly Australian DNA.
“Ambassadors put a very human element to a company’s image,” says Pesel. “When you think about it, Bonds is all about the first thing you put on in the morning and the last thing you take off. Their ambassadors are people who are able to embody the everyday experience and allow their customers to identify with it, too.”
Above all, the brand has remained agile while upholding its reputation because of a simple reason, says Pesel: “The key thing with Bonds is that it has never tried to be anything but itself. This sense of reliability, along with their ability to put themselves in their customer’s shoes, is ultimately what sets them apart.”
Employment specialist Peter Barber FIML talks to Nicola Heath about how to make retirement and semi-retirement work for you.
What makes a fulfilling retirement?
It’s a question Baby Boomers, the five million or so Australians born between 1946 and 1966, are having to face as they reach retirement age.
The answer is not endless rounds of golf, says Peter Barber, principal facilitator at Follow Your Star in Melbourne.
A happy retirement hinges on finding meaningful things to do, he says. “It’s being able to feel as though you’re making a contribution to your own well-being, to your partner’s well-being, and in some ways, to the community.”
Planning for retirement is often limited to seeking advice about superannuation and other financial matters. “The question most often asked is, ‘Will I have enough to live on and will it last?’ rather than ‘What do I really want to do next and how will I do it?’” he says. “Most people put more planning into a holiday than they do into their retirement.”
Today’s ageing professionals can expect to live for another 20 or 30 years after their retirement. Without appropriate reflection and planning, retirement can become a challenging time for someone who is accustomed to a busy life that derives meaning and fulfilment from work. Take away nine-to-five employment and you have a lot of time on your hands. “That definition of who you are is suddenly removed,” says Barber.
At Follow Your Star, Barber offers career planning for people in all stages of their lives. The ‘New Horizons’ program focuses on the transition to retirement. Barber helps his clients do two things: write a purpose statement that defines their direction for the next three to five years, and to identify their personal drivers, or “what makes them make choices, make decisions, choose one activity over another? That helps them define what they want to do.”
Barber has first-hand experience of the challenges that come with transitioning to retirement. Retrenched during the GFC when he was 58, Barber suddenly had to decide what to do with the rest of his life. He eventually started a business, which now occupies 20-25 hours of his time each week.
Work remains a fundamental part of Barber’s life. He says he is currently enjoying his ‘unretirement’, a mix of meaningful professional activity, creative pursuits like writing, music-making and performance, and pro bono work, which allows him to contribute to the local community.
So, what are the options for someone planning a fulfilling retirement? Travel and leisure activities are often high on people’s lists, but at best they are short-term strategies. “They’re finite,” says Barber. “A three-month holiday in Europe comes to an end – and then what?”
Peter Barber FIML
Family
Retirement is an opportunity to focus our attention on our important relationships. As we age, “networks tend to shrink rather than expand,” says Barber, who believes a happy home life will help create an overall sense of wellbeing.
“Most people put more planning into a holiday than they do into their retirement.”
Semi-retirement
Increasingly, professionals who have enjoyed rewarding careers are choosing to keep working, albeit in a scaled-down capacity, once they reach retirement age. “The main trend is that people my age, in this demographic, are saying ‘I really don’t want to stop doing something,’” says Barber.
Some, like Barber, establish businesses using the many skills they have acquired over their working life. Part-time work, consulting and freelancing are also popular options. Leaders interested in giving back to the community can explore the possibility of joining a board where their experience and expertise can be put to good use.
Many use the free time of retirement to go back to school, whether through formal study like Kirkby, or short courses offered by U3A and other adult education institutions. Since retiring, Barber completed his Masters and is planning to start doctoral studies next year. His wife is not resting on her laurels either; she is currently studying creative writing at Swinburne University.
Volunteering
A 2014 survey found that people aged between 65 and 74 were among the age brackets with the highest rates of volunteering in the country, with 35 per cent giving up their time through an organisation or group. The same survey calculated that volunteers contribute 743 million hours of work each year to the community. Philanthropic work also comes with health benefits: one study found that volunteers had lower blood pressure, while another found they lived longer. Join a local community group or look for volunteering opportunities online.
Are you managing staff approaching the transition to retirement, looking to transition yourself or have retired?
Join us at this Victorian TELTalk: New Horizons where Peter Barber FIML shares his whole of life approach to retirement planning and explains the personal and corporate benefits of providing transitional support for employees moving into retirement.
Musician Jack White’s Third Man Records is helping rebuild Detroit with a brand new vinyl record pressing plant and outlet stores. Is there life for legacy industries post-disruption?
BY JAMES JENNINGS
A funny thing happened alongside the rapid rise of digital music streaming services: vinyl albums – those cumbersome 12-inch plastic slabs that fell out of favour in the late-80s and early-90s – have experienced a remarkable resurgence, with worldwide sales increasing exponentially year-on-year.
Although the arrival of the Compact Disc appeared to signal the death knell for the LP format, a so-called “vinyl revival” that began around 2007 has seen records make a roaring comeback: in the US alone, it’s projected that 40 million records will be sold in 2017, with sales approaching $US1 billion. In Australia, vinyl counts for 15 per cent of all physical music sales, with 2016 experiencing an 80 per cent increase in overall sales compared to 2015.
The popularity of digital streaming has done nothing to quell the desire of music lovers to hold something tangible in their hands (although the devaluing and lack of aesthetic appeal of CDs has meant their potential resurgence won’t be on the cards any time soon), leading to a vinyl boom and the growing popularity of Record Store Day, an annual international celebration of the format.
Although vinyl sales still only account for a small portion of overall physical music sales – in the US they will only make up around six per cent of a projected $15 billion in revenue this year – the resurgence is enough to provide a significant increase in demand and a second wind for a once-doomed legacy industry.
One of the most vocal champions for the growth of vinyl production in a post-disruption world is none other than the White Stripes’ Jack White (pictured top), whose two solo albums – 2012’s Blunderbuss and 2014’s Lazaretto – both wound up in the US Top 10 vinyl sales during their respective years of release.
Following on from the opening of White’s Third Man Records’ storefront in Nashville in 2009 (the premises including a record store, novelties lounge, label offices, distribution centre, photo studio and the world’s only live venue with direct-to-acetate recording capabilities), White and Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell – White’s nephew – opened a second storefront in Detroit’s historic Cass Corridor in 2015.
In February, White cemented his dedication to the vinyl format and his staunch desire to keep it alive and kicking well into the 21st century with the opening of Third Man Pressing, a state-of-the-art vinyl production facility. Billed as an investment in Third Man Records’ hometown (Detroit is White’s city of birth), the plant is housed in a 10,000 square foot warehouse that cost seven figures and boasts eight custom-built record presses from Germany’s Newbilt Machinery, each unit costing $220,000.
The significant investment from White has also created new manufacturing jobs: the current plan is to run the presses, which produce 5000 records per eight-hour shift, for 24 hours a day, resulting in the need for approximately 50 employees to keep production moving (the Nashville flagship store, by comparison, employs a staff of 30).
“Fifty jobs isn’t a new Ford factory,” Blackwell told Rolling Stone in February. “But for Detroit to continue moving forward, you need to have different ideas. (Manufacturing) is a field that’s driven by creativity. That’s something this city has always been flush with.”
Third Man Pressing is only one of about 20 vinyl record plants in the US – and one of only a few dozen worldwide – but with Jack White’s ingenuity and vision leading the charge, the fascination with vinyl LPs and their resurgence will only further the format’s growth among record collectors.
“Jack White is the public face for vinyl,” Blackwell told The Detroit News not long after the grand opening of Third Man Pressing in February. “This is us putting our money where our mouth is. This is an investment to show our dedication and our commitment to the format and the industry surrounding it.”
Go inside the Third Man Pressing facility in Detroit . . . watch here
Anthony Vassallo is the business manager at Redeemer Lutheran College in Brisbane. His mentee, Jennifer Bisley, is based in Bundaberg as regional manager, curriculum support (North Coast region) at Queensland’s Department of Education and Training. Despite being 380km apart, they have been talking together each fortnight for the past year to set goals, discuss challenges and share ideas. Vassallo says mentoring is “a valuable refresher course” and Bisley believes it’s an essential part of professional and personal growth.
Why did you join the mentor program?
Jennifer Bisley: Most leaders have mentors – some have more than one. I wanted someone totally impartial to talk to on a professional level who had nothing to gain from our conversations. When the opportunity presented itself, it was great timing because I was experiencing enormous changes at work. Anthony wasn’t playing in my sandpit, so I could say what was on my mind.
Anthony Vassallo: I worked for many years in German banks where they had traineeships, and I was a mentor then. I found it very satisfying to help people in their career. When the opportunity came up again, I decided to become involved.
What is the value of a mentoring relationship?
JB: When you commit to having a mentor, you commit time to do something for yourself. It means you can’t take that phone call or check your email during the hour that you’ve dedicated to mentoring. It’s an investment in your personal and professional growth and in your overall wellbeing.
AV: Discussions generally start with leadership and management strategy, and then evolve into personal reflection, which is important for any leader. My discussions with Jenny included the things she wanted to achieve as a person; hopefully that was rewarding for her.
What did you learn from each other?
JB: What didn’t I learn! I learned practical applications for my role. Through Anthony, I was able to look at challenges or problems through a different lens.
AV: Jenny thinks a lot about the kind of leader she wants to be and this made me think what kind of leader I am and how I can improve.
What did you get out of the program?
JB: I was able to establish clear goals and values. I also learned that I’m my harshest critic and the mentoring relationship involves a lot of self-reflection.
AV: Mentoring is like a refresher course. When you’re recommending books or papers or TED talks, you revisit them yourself and it helps to refresh your ideas.
Would you recommend the mentor program to others?
JB: Absolutely. It has been a key component of my leadership journey. Everyone should have a mentor.
AV: It’s been very good for me and I’d certainly recommend it. Like a lot of things in life, it’s good for you but you don’t often make time for it. If you’re going to do it, be strict with yourself about making the time.
The new leaders: how they think and why they’re totally suited to these times
By Nicola Heath
Change. It’s the greatest challenge young leaders face today.
“In one year, the amount of change we are exposed to is probably equivalent to 10 to 20 years of our parents’ generation,” says Luke Higgins, a Managing Director and Technical Architect at global professional services company Accenture.
In the past, change was optional. Organisations could maintain the status quo and remain successful, says Higgins. “Now we don’t have a choice. We have to change one way or another, to survive. You can see that with the Fortune 100 companies, every 10 years, you look at them and many drop out because they haven’t changed.”
As technology and methodology constantly evolves, the trick is identifying the right one to adopt. Which change will drive enough value to justify the investment? “That’s always the hard part,” says Higgins. “You need to be sure the change is worth the effort.”
Disruption is part of the architecture at Accenture, where Higgins runs two strategies in parallel. The first is an emerging strategy that tests new ideas and technologies. If successful, they are then incorporated into a deliberate strategy, where assets are scaled, refined and eventually rolled out.
AIM Emerging Leader board member Bec Hovey is Associate Director of Online Marketing at University of Southern Queensland. Change is so important to her team, it has its own catchphrase: ‘positive reframing’.
“It’s part of our team DNA,” she says. If something goes wrong – a ‘curveball’ in the team’s parlance – the first questions are, “‘How can we reframe this? How can we bring back the positivity to this situation, and what can we do, and what can we control at the end of the day?’”
Bec Hovey . . . mastering the art of dealing with ‘curveballs’
In this environment, the ability to adapt is fundamental. Success lies in being “resilient enough to be continuously improving and continuously adjusting what that end goal might be,” she says.
Jess Ferguson AIMM, Manager at EmploysurePLUS Services, agrees. The challenge, she says, lies in “building enough agility to flourish in a disruptive time.”
“My team works in a constant space of learning and adapting. This is particularly necessary when you’re working in the business of disruption,” Ferguson says. “We don’t take things for granted or get complacent. We know that things could change and evolve at any point and we embrace the growth that comes with that, and support each other in whatever way we can.”
Many of us are resistant to change – not so Ferguson. “I don’t like being stagnant. I’m a total optimist and believe I can make the best of anything that comes my way,” she says. “Being agile and flexible and open to the shifting direction that we move in is something that I’m very comfortable with it. Actually, I really enjoy it.”
In an age of volatility, Higgins believes an effective leader needs clear direction. That means evolving and adapting to new technologies at a micro level, but, Higgins says, “you have that over-arching macro view that is always consistent.” As a leader, you need to be open to finding new ways to achieve the end goal.
‘We are more adaptive to technological change’ – Bec Hovey
Viewing change as an opportunity, not a threat, is what sets young leaders apart from older generations, suggests Hovey. “We are more adaptive to technological change.”
Hovey introduced Facebook Workplace to her team in 2016 as way to improve inter-campus communication. Using the tool – particularly video chat – has improved collaboration and transparency between the Brisbane and Toowoomba offices.
Ferguson, who also uses Facebook Workplace at Employsure, says the tool has been crucial in helping leadership communicate vision and other important insights to teams. “It’s been a huge connection tool for the entire business.”
Jess Ferguson . . . constantly learning and adapting is the key.
Technology permeates everything Higgins does at Accenture too. “Every decision I make is data driven,” he says. He is also always asking how technology can improve the way his team operates. “How do we introduce automation, AI, robotics to do our job in a better way so we don’t have to use manual labour to do that work anymore? That’s where we leverage technology a lot.”
At Thankyou, a Melbourne-based social enterprise, team members use task management tool Asana and video-conferencing service Zoom, which Managing Director Daniel Flynn (pictured at top) says has proven useful in connecting teams on the road. “We’re setting up to launch in New Zealand so we have teams that live in different countries. It helps us connect and keep moving at a fast pace.”
It’s important to continue to evolve, be open to new ideas and new technology, says Flynn. “We try and fail until we find a good fit.”
‘It’s not about me, it’s about us’ – Daniel Flynn
If today’s leaders want to solve the world’s problems – poverty and climate change among them – Flynn believes focus needs to switch from the self to the collective. Where we look inward, we must look outward, he says. “We need leaders who are focused on things greater than themselves and not just career progression.”
In this quarter, social enterprises like Thankyou are leading the way. Its mission is simple: to empower people to help end poverty. Thankyou’s leadership team tries to embody the organisation’s ‘we, not I’ ethos. “It’s not about me, it’s about us and how we can create change outside of our scope,” says Flynn.
“If I see people who are just trying to build their careers, step on people to get ahead, to be honest they don’t last long at Thankyou. It’s just not the culture we’ve created.”
When Vicky came back to her Victorian State Government position after maternity leave, it was tough. Getting back in there and leading her team again required renewed confidence in her abilities and a strong mental attitude.
Marion King FIML
Vicky was matched with Marion King FIML, from Conocer Consulting, specialising in Workforce Planning and HR Consulting. This turned out to be a very successful team relationship, where the opportunity to really get to what mattered and turn around perceptions worked exceptionally well.
Vicky: As part of an organisational leadership program, I identified mentoring would be beneficial. It seemed like a better long- term option to look externally and focus on less technical skills and more widely at management skills.
Marion: I think it’s a very valuable opportunity for me to use my experience as a leader to guide others. It’s great that IML offers this service, as it’s not always possible to find the right match within an organisation.
What did you get out of the experience?
Vicky: After a year of maternity leave, my confidence was low and my self-doubt was high. It was great that I had the opportunity to take time to explore different areas I felt I was weak in. It made me feel more confident about my skills and abilities. I also gained a better understanding of what I want from my career, time to reflect on my skills and work on my weaknesses. This isn’t something I have time for generally, so it felt like a luxury.
Marion: It was very rewarding. Vicky and I had great rapport from the very beginning, it was a very good match. She was very open about what she wanted from the program, where she was to begin with and where she wanted to go.
What did you learn from each other?
Vicky: Don’t be afraid to take risks. Consider what are the consequences of something not going to plan and weigh up whether it is worth taking the risk.
Marion: Work life can be pretty tough and is rarely predictable. Vicky is very emotionally intelligent and uses these skills to be a very aware manager and understand what her staff are going through. I also learnt about some issues that are facing the public sector generally.
Would you recommend the mentoring program to others?
Vicky: Yes, it’s a great opportunity for self-reflection, which is something you don’t generally have time to do. Do it with an open mind and don’t be afraid to openly and honestly tackle issues that may be holding you back.
Marion: Absolutely. It’s a rare opportunity to really discuss openly where you are in your work, (and personal) life and to get some practical advice on how to build a pathway to success.
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Marion King FIML
